I read reviews, specs, research history of firearm, talk to gun store owners, see what others say about potential problems and get some serious range time in with similar or same products. I put over 1000 rounds through various CZ 2075's before I finally bought one. It was for conceal carry, so I wanted to make sure I was getting exactly what I fit me the best.

In general it takes me a few months at least to figure out what I want in a gun and what gun fits my needs and wants.

The last person the world I would ever take advice from is a gun store owner or employee. They mark shit up so high and push it over good products and knowing few people know anything about guns, they can say whatever the hell they want and they know most people will believe them.

Phrases like:
"with colt you're just buying the name, bushmaster is just as good"
"I was special forces"
"I used to be a cop so I know"
"this is the gun that killed bin laden"
"you dont even have to aim with shotguns"

Truly, never EVER EVER take advice from someone who's going to make money off of what they are telling you. Would you take car advice from a car salesman? FUCK NO!

Most gun rags are shills for the product they are "reviewing". GO ahead and do some reading and see how many reviews in magazines come off as bad...you'll find very very few. Thats because the gun reviewers get the guns for free and the mag will continue to get ad revenue from brand "x" if they get good reviews.
The reason shit like this goes on, is because most people buy a gun and shoot it once or twice a year. And for those people, most garbage is fine. But if you want to defend yourself, or take carbine classes, or just be serious about a weapon system, it needs to be a good one.

I started reading ar15.com but never really liked it very much. The people were hateful as fuck. When I started reading there, they seemed really concerned with the aesthetics of ARs and less about their function. Then I found m4carbine.net and they are way more professional. A lot of industry people, contractors, instructors, subject matter experts and the like post a lot there.

I look for brand names more than specs. The reason being, anyone can call their rifle mil spec. Anyone at all. Sort of like a link Pyramid posted in the chat thread about Kobe beef. No one here has ever had kobe beef because its illegal to export it from Japan...or something like that. But a steak place can call their stuff Kobe beef all day long.
Bushmaster, Rock River, DPMS, and companies of lower brands like that claim mil spec but they're actually not. The mil spec is defined by Colts TDP. So when a gun store guy says you're just buying the name, he's lying right to your face. There are some brands that go better than the TDP, but most are below it

Anywho...with that said I look for BCM, Daniel Defense, LMT, Noveske, Knights Armament, and of course, Colt. Thats only if I'm buying a whole rifle. If I'm going to build one, I look for one of those brands', or better, barrel and bolt. Lowers are pretty much all in spec. I dont really like billet because its weaker and therefore thicker to make up for its weakness so its usually a little heavier..but not much. Uppers are like lowers, they're almost always in spec. But I wont go with one of those lower end manufacturers for uppers or lowers just on principal. Even though, there are only a few manufacturers of lowers and uppers in the US and I'm probably getting the same parts, just with a different brand etched in them
But the barrel is the heart of the AR. The bolt after that then the trigger. I use standard triggers in my AR's because I always lose patience before I save for a good trigger and I move on to the next gun project. I will end up putting a good trigger in my AR308 that I built, but for now, I'm saving for the optic. Then ammo, then magazines. Good magazines will save a lot of headache. And THROW AWAY YOUR BROKEN ONES! They're a consumable good. They're cheap and have a decent life span, but throw them out when they're done

Some of those things in that video are ridiculous. The barrel torque...if you're not assembling them, that's irrelevant. The back of the carrier has the be bigger because the piston system isn't really right for the AR platform. The bolt is supposed to move back in a straight direction, but the way the piston system works, it puts a great deal of strain on the carrier and the lower, and the RE because it pushes it from the top instead of even with the bore. The adjustable gas block has been around a while. Noveske switchblock. They didnt redesign it from the ground up. If they did, it wouldn't be an AR anymore.

Its not the consensus that pistons are even needed. It takes about 10 minutes to clean an AR.

Anyway, I wouldn't go piston because its not done. The technology is only a few years old and it still has some bugs to work out. If you're intending this to be your 1 gun, I wouldn't get a beta version when there are full version DI options out there.

DI ARs are standard so their parts are EVERYWHERE!

Piston guns are all proprietary so if you get something weird or when the next generation comes out, parts will be hard to find or more expensive.

Also, did some digging over on m4carbine.net, apparently Sig got sued by LWRC for using their BCG design. Then got sued by adams arms for stealing their piston design. I guess they settled it since they can now sell these...but still...shady if you ask me

I'll reiterate my point that an AR is supposed to be DI. Its how its designed. If you want a piston gun, get an AK, or an M1A. Those guns are designed to be piston guns. Their actions revolve around that. All these different "solutions" to get a piston into an AR is really just nigg.er rigging something into what it was never intended to be. Eugene Stoner (ya know...the inventor of the AR) was working at KAC to develop the SR15 into the best AR that exists

Anyway, I wouldn't go piston because its not done. The technology is only a few years old and it still has some bugs to work out. If you're intending this to be your 1 gun, I wouldn't get a beta version when there are full version DI options out there.

DI ARs are standard so their parts are EVERYWHERE!

Piston guns are all proprietary so if you get something weird or when the next generation comes out, parts will be hard to find or more expensive.

Also, did some digging over on m4carbine.net, apparently Sig got sued by LWRC for using their BCG design. Then got sued by adams arms for stealing their piston design. I guess they settled it since they can now sell these...but still...shady if you ask me

I'll reiterate my point that an AR is supposed to be DI. Its how its designed. If you want a piston gun, get an AK, or an M1A. Those guns are designed to be piston guns. Their actions revolve around that. All these different "solutions" to get a piston into an AR is really just nigg.er rigging something into what it was never intended to be. Eugene Stoner (ya know...the inventor of the AR) was working at KAC to develop the SR15 into the best AR that exists

So when it comes to a tactual rifle AR is top dog? Yes I watched the video, however that appears to be a 7,000$ gun.....

The 2 sig's I want are 600$ and 1k.....

And everyone has lawsuits.....AMD vs Intel, Apple vs Microsoft.......does not mean they actually stole the design....just means they want to waste time in the courts to see if they can win....

I just seem to be drawn towards Sig.....I do not want an AR because everyone and their momma has one. And I intend to get a shotgun for home defense.....these rifles would be range time fun.

I just seem to be drawn towards Sig.....I do not want an AR because everyone and their momma has one.

Nothing against sig but not wanting an AR because everyone else has one is a retarded argument against ARs. Why do you think everyone has ARs, its not a trend, ARs are awesome.
And where did you get 7k from? A Colt M4 can be had for a little over 1k and the DDs about the same too.

I used to be in sales, hell I'm still sort of in sales, so I can spot a salesman ting from a mile away. Fortunately the guys at the gun stores around here rarely , and when they do I call them on it.

I'm of the firm belief that you find the right product for the customer, not sway them towards a product with a higher profit margin. You ask them a series of questions, like what it will be used for, how often, the price of maintaining it, etc and then find a product that suits them.

I love calling out car dealers on their , it's like a hobby of mine.

But the best salesman is the one that will help you find what you need or want, not what they want to sell you.

I used to be in sales, hell I'm still sort of in sales, so I can spot a salesman ting from a mile away. Fortunately the guys at the gun stores around here rarely , and when they do I call them on it.

I'm of the firm belief that you find the right product for the customer, not sway them towards a product with a higher profit margin. You ask them a series of questions, like what it will be used for, how often, the price of maintaining it, etc and then find a product that suits them.

I love calling out car dealers on their , it's like a hobby of mine.

But the best salesman is the one that will help you find what you need or want, not what they want to sell you.

I have a friend that works at the local gun store. He said no one makes profit off sales.....and they offer a lifetime warranty if you buy the gun from them, which I want to see what they cover under it, because I may just buy my guns from them.

I understand about the salesmen s , but I'm reading up so much on Sig and other brands.....just seems like I am becoming a Sig fan......just liking it all....

Sometimes people don't know how to transfer their favorite DVD/Video/Audio/Picture to their portable devices or have no idea drag files to their iPod/iPad/iPhone. Here I want to share my own experience of how to do this with ease. What you need is just this software iPod Transfer Pro. This osftware can transfer video, audio and picture from iPod to PC or iTunes and transfer video and audio and picture from PC to iPod. It can directly convert DVD and video to iPod supported files. And the software supports iPod, iPod Classic, iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, iPod Touch.

Let me show you in detail as below:

Step 1: Connect your iPod to PC via Apple dedicated data line, then you will see the following image. Once connecting, your iPod will be recognized instantly, and the detailed information about your iPod will be displayed, including type, capacity, version and serial number. Plus, it will show the specific capacity values of different iPod files which have taken, and the available space.

I. Transfer Files from iPod to PCStep 2: On the left side of the main interface, you will see the display list, which will show your various iPod files in different types. You can freely choose any kind of file type(Music, Video, Photo) to transfer to your PC for backup and safety. (Here we take image for example)

Click "Photo" on the display list, then the right side of the interface will display all your image files in details as the following screenshot shows.
In front of each listed picture file, there is a check box, you can check all to choose all photo files or just one to choose,, then click "iPod to PC" image button on the bottom of the interface to start transferring photo files from iPod to PC.

II. Transfer Files from PC to iPodStep 2: Click any one of three file types shown on the display list, then add video/audio/image files from PC to iPod. (Take video and DVD for example)
A: Add video/DVD files from PC to iPod
Click "Video" on the display list, then click "PC to iPod" image button on the bottom of the interface. After that, a new window will pop up as the following screenshot shows.

A-1: Add video files from PC to iPod
For adding video files, you can click "Add File" image button and choose the target video file on your PC, then the chosen video will be listed on the display list. Then just click the activated "Import" button to transfer the target video file to your iPod.
Remember to check the "Convert files before importing" box, then even the loaded video file isn't supported by iPod, this iPod transfer can convert it to iPod compatible format.

D-2: Add DVD movie from PC to iPod
For Loading DVD, you can click "Load DVD" image button and choose the target DVD default folder, then all chapter files of the chosen DVD file will be listed on the display list. You can choose any one chapter file or the whole DVD folder, then just click the activated "Import" button to convert the target DVD file to iPod compatible video formats, and then transfer them to your iPod.